Many airports without passengers: will the new aviation policy make a difference?
The recently unveiled National Civil Aviation policy aims to transform the aviation map of India by reviving numerous airports and airstrips that are either not operational or witness little activity. Boosting regional air connectivity is a highlight of the policy – a task that may prove challenging given the present domestic passenger traffic trends at our airports. The country is dotted with as many as 450 airports and airstrips but only 75 have scheduled operations, the policy document says. A number of these belong to Defence establishments while some others belong to State governments or private entities. Many of these airports or airstrips are not operational or have fallen into disuse. They also include newly constructed airports that have not taken off, for various reasons. The large Metro airports account for the bulk of the domestic traffic. The data released by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for April 2016, relating to 82 airports (international and domestic airports, apart from ones owned by state governments and private parties), reveals that nearly 65 per cent of the domestic passenger traffic totalling nearly 1.6 crores was handled by just six airports – Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. And just 26 airports had recorded traffic exceeding one lakh domestic passengers that month. And between them, these airports accounted for over 90 per cent of the total domestic traffic handled. Some of these airports have also witnessed a dramatic growth in passenger traffic year over year – over 50 per cent in the case of Varanasi, Mangalore and Visakhapatnam. Six other airports have recorded a growth of 25 to 50 per cent. The majority of the remaining airports have handled less than 50,000 domestic passengers. Some of the small airports have recorded a big surge in traffic but the total number of passengers they have handed are relatively small. Among the airports which have accounted for more than 50,000 domestic passengers, Udaipur, Dehradun and Madurai have seen a growth of more than 50 per cent, while Imphal and Vadodara have recorded a surge of 25 to 50 per cent. The Regional Connectivity Scheme, to be implemented from the second quarter of 2016-17, aims to revive the fortunes of un-served or under-served airports and routes. The government offered several incentives to promote these underserved locations. Kevin Labanc Jersey
Will heads roll at Air India after Venkaiah Naidu’s public berating?
Sarkari airline Air India had yet another flight delay this afternoon. Only this time, an important Union Minister was among the passengers and chose to fume about his experience on social media. Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu lashed out at Air India after his Delhi-Hyderabad flight got delayed, saying he missed an “important” meeting because of the delay. Delays are part and parcel of flying, should the minister have made such a big deal about it? It turns out that in a peer-to-peer comparison, Air India is decidedly the least reliable in terms of on-time performance. Whether it be domestic flights or international ones. Air India tweeted its apology to the minister while clarifying that the commander of the said aircraft was held up in a traffic jam. Commanders are required to report at least an hour before the flight so this seems to be a curious case of indiscipline. Will some heads roll now, after the public rebuke by a Union minister and an equally public assertion by the Minister of Civil Aviation A Gajapathi Raju and his deputy that a thorough inquiry would be conducted into this instance of delay? Any strict action seems unlikely against errant Air India staff, as previous such promises of inquiries show. Which would be a pity, since this instance could serve as an opportunity for concerned officials to pull up their socks. De’Vondre Campbell Authentic Jersey
Rickety Juhu hangar will be 30 air traffic controllers’ new home
In an inhuman move, the Central government-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) has asked 30 air traffic controllers to vacate their staff quarters in Juhu and Vile Parle to make way for new transfers and move to a run-down aircraft hangar in the Juhu airport. It’s not a temporary arrangement. The abandoned, dilapidated ‘Shobha Singh’ hangar will be the new residential address of about 40 AAI officials, including 30 air traffic controllers. Inside the hangar, covering about 4,000 sq ft area, the AAI has rigged up two rows of twin-sharing plastic cubicles, each about 100 sq ft, said a source. Each cubicle has two cots and an overhead fan. What is worse, every monsoon, the Juhu airport gets inundated and so does Shobha Singh hangar. “It’s worse than a prison cell. It’s shocking and demoralising,” said an airport source. “The hangar is not conducive for human habitation. It is located barely 10m from Indamer hangar and so there is a constant deafening noise as engine run-ups of helicopters are carried out even at night. It’s not possible to get decent sleep there.” This move is likely to also affect air safety as controllers carry out the critical job of giving navigational instructions to the pilots to ensure smooth and safe flow of aircraft. “This move will surely affect air traffic control job functions. There is already an acute shortage of staff and this will add to the stress,” the official added. “It’s no place to send an official whose job demands split-second decisions that impact air safety.” Randy White Womens Jersey
Mukesh Ambani’s pvt firms hit slow lane
Net worth of Reliance Gas erodes by Rs 19 billion; port, power companies report lower profits. Mukesh Ambani’s private companies, operating in the gas transport, power and port sectors, moved into the slow lane in financial year 2015-16 (FY16). This was mainly because of a slowdown in gas production in the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin, and increased provisions for redemption of preference shares and debentures. According to statistics submitted to stock exchanges, Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure (RGTIL) reported a loss of Rs 5.38 billion in FY16 compared to a loss of Rs 4.36 billion a year ago. The company had received a loan restructuring package from banks under the 5/25 scheme last year for its debt worth Rs 160 billion. Under the scheme, banks are allowed to extend the repayment schedule of loans to 25 years with an option to refinance them at the end of five years. Falling gas production from the KG basin eroded the company’s net worth by Rs 18.91 billion. It earned five per cent less revenue in the FY16 at Rs 12.95 billion. When contacted, an official spokesperson of Reliance Industries (RIL) declined to comment. RGTIL expects better performance in the long run because of the commissioning of liquefied natural gas terminals and an increase in gas production, it informed bondholders. The Ambanis have promised to invest more equity in the company, which constructed a 1,386-km gas pipeline from the east coast of India to Gujarat to supply industries based in west coast. However, sales and profit fell in line with RIL’s gas production. The company’s finance costs fell to Rs 5.71 billion from Rs 6.57 billion as on March 2015, thanks to the 5/25 scheme. At present, RGTIL charges its customers according to the tariff fixed by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) and has made provisions for Rs 25.15 billion of revenues for the period April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2015, which is the difference between the provisional tariff and final tariff that is yet to be cleared by PNGRB. This will be recovered from future bills of gas transport from its customers after PNGRB clears the tariff, the company said. However, as they had to make provisions for redemption of preference shares and debentures, both companies reported lower profits. Reliance Ports and Terminals made a profit of Rs 550 million as compared to a profit of Rs 4.72 billion in FY15. The company reported revenues of Rs 37.92 billion in FY16 as compared to Rs 36.53 billion in FY15. Reliance Power and Utilities made a profit of Rs 310 million, down 16 per cent compared to the previous year. Its revenues were Rs 17.41 billion, up 7.5 per cent as compared to Rs 16.20 billion in FY15. Both Reliance port and power companies cater to the demand of RIL’s Jamnagar refinery. Rod Gilbert Jersey
Congress opposes Centre’s decision to auction Assam’s 12 small oil fields
The Centre has identified 67 small oil and gas fields across the country, including 12 from Assam, to put on auction from next month onwards through competitive global bidding Assam’s main opposition party, the Congress party, has opposed the Centre’s decision to auction 12 of the state’s small oil fields; starting July 15. The party has cast doubt on the intention of the Centre and said such move might be aimed at benefiting “some private industrialists” having good relation with the central government. In a letter addressed to the state’s chief minister, leader of the opposition of Assam assembly and also Congress party member, Debabrata Saikia, said though a draft policy was prepared under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and Veerappa Moily as the then petroleum minister to transfer small and marginal oil fields under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) bids, the UPA government however kept the decision in abeyance keeping in view the “sensitivity on the Assamese people and energy security”. The Centre has identified 67 small oil and gas fields across the country, including 12 from Assam, to put on auction from next month onwards through competitive global bidding. All these 67 fields were discovered some 20-30 years back and had been lying undeveloped with either the Oil India Limited (OIL) or Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC). The move to auction these fields is aimed at monetising the vast resources lying untapped in these fields and partly meet the country’s energy demand. These fields altogether hold in-place oil and oil equivalent gas volumes of 86 MMT, which amounts to around Rs. 700 billion of reserves. Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said exploiting these small fields required micro-level management and specific technologies, making it unattractive for the two public sector oil giants to invest in. Hence, these fields had been lying unexploited over the years. The estimated capital expenditure required to fully exploit these fields would be around Rs 40 billion. “In case the government thinks that OIL and ONGC cannot operate these small fields profitably, some other public sector companies like GAIL India Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and Hindustan Petrleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), who are new entrants in the exploration business may form joint venture companies with stake of state level public sector companies (PSUs) already formed by the Assam government like Assam Gas Company, Assam Hydrocarbon Limited etc.,” said Saikia. The Congress party said the Assam government must ask the Centre to reconsider its decision of the Centre to hand-over small oil fields to “private operators through NELP”.
CNG filling stations in 3 cities
Five Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) filling stations each will be set up in the cities of Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, and Kozhikode within the next one year to bring out a fuel change from diesel to the less polluting CNG. A decision to this effect was reached in the talks State Transport Commissioner Tomin J. Thachankary had with representatives of the oil majors IOCL, HP, BPCL, and Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) here on Monday. The meeting was in the wake of a directive of the circuit bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the State government’s policy to bring down the pollution caused by vehicles. CNG has already started flowing from the Puthuvypeen terminal to the outlet of IOC at Pathadipalam. The IOC is making available CNG at the five filling stations through pipes. As the pipes have not been laid to other cities, CNG will be transported in cryogenic tankers to the filling stations to be set up in the existing petrol pumps in government and private sector. The CNG at present costs Rs.39 a kg compared to the Rs.59 a litre for High Speed Diesel (HSD) and Rs.69 for a litre of petrol. Kelvin Beachum Womens Jersey
Gujarat Gas gets nod for Ahmedabad
Gujarat Gas Limited (GGL) has been granted permission to develop city gas distribution network (CGD) in Ahmedabad district. The authorization by The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), however, is for providing natural gas, to urban regions in the district excluding Ahmedabad city areas, where Adani Gas Limited (AGL) already holds the licence to supply PNG and CNG. GGL will supply natural gas, both piped natural gas (PNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG), to residential, commercial and industrial consumers in urban centres like Sanand, Viramgam, Bavla, Dholka, Dhandhuka, Mandal and Detroj-Rampura. Luke Opilka Womens Jersey
Narendra Modi’s $27 billion oil quest gives services firms a lifeline
India is offering global oilfield service providers starved of new contracts a $27 billion lifeline as the government’s ambition to cut fuel imports drives fresh investment. Spending plans are ratcheting up and stalled projects restarting after the government in March announced pricing freedom for natural gas from deepsea fields that begin production this year. Coming at a time when the cost of rigs and services has halved, that’s prompted India’s largest explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp. to launch its biggest development campaign yet. Reliance Industries Ltd. is preparing to restart work at four offshore oil and gas blocks. The flurry of activity is providing some respite to services companies including Schlumberger Ltd., Technip SA and Halliburton Co. that were stung last year by more than $100 billion in slashed spending by explorers as oil collapsed. Investments in India are growing to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s target of cutting import dependence by 10 per cent over six years as increased consumption puts the nation on track to become the world’s third-largest oil consumer. “In India, there are two to three major identified projects and they are probably bigger than anything else going on in rest of the world,” Technip India’s Managing Director Bhaskar Patel said in an interview. “India is a place where there is work available.” India’s hydrocarbon resources still remain highly undeveloped and the government’s new liberal approach is nudging companies to invest in tapping them. The measures are expected to boost gas output by 35 million standard cubic meters a day and unshackle projects worth 1.8 trillion rupees ($27 billion), Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had said when the policy changes were announced. About 90 per cent of the new spending would go to companies that provide services from drilling to testing and the laying of infrastructure. Halliburton is positioned to participate in “the country’s ambitious plans to increase its domestic production,” the company said in an e-mailed response to questions. “India plays a crucial role for sustained development in the region for Halliburton.” The Indian government’s initiatives will increase the pace of exploration, ONGC Chairman Dinesh Kumar Sarraf said. ONGC will contract deepwater drill ships and dozens of jack-up rigs for a $5-billion development program in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, he said. The company intends to spend 11 trillion rupees by 2030 to raise output. Reliance has held meetings with oilfield-services companies to restart work at four offshore oil and gas blocks, including one of India’s biggest natural gas discoveries, people with knowledge of the plan said in May. It plans to drill 21 wells in four offshore areas, including the deepwater KG-D6 block in the Bay of Bengal, the people said. ONGC shares were up 0.2 per cent to 210.50 rupees as of 12:25 p.m. in Mumbai on Tuesday, while Reliance gained 0.2 per cent to 957.15 rupees. India’s exploration binge still won’t be enough to compensate for canceled projects around the world as oil prices settle below 50-a-barrel of crude from more than $100 two years ago. Worldwide, the oil and gas industry will cut $1 trillion from planned spending on exploration and development because of the price slump, consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd. said this month. Investing during the current down-cycle ensures lower costs for explorers as well as future returns over four or five years once oil recovers, Technip India’s Patel said. Read more on planned spending in the oil and gas industry here. ONGC has reduced the cost of its Krishna-Godavari basin block by almost a third from earlier estimates of about $7 billion as prices slide for the contract rate for rigs and oilfield equipment and services. Offshore jack-up rigs, which used to cost $80,000 to $90,000 a day, are now available for less than $50,000, ONGC’s Sarraf said. “We could say there is 20 per cent to 50 per cent reduction in the cost of goods and services.” Despite the price competition, service providers are finding that an India strategy is critical given the scarcity of spending elsewhere. Finnish company Wartsila OYJ’s Indian unit sees opportunity here given the tough global environment. “In the exploration segments, if projects are coming up of course it’s an opportunity for us,” Kimmo Kohtamaki, president and managing director of Wartsila India, said. “We have matching products and no one else is investing. Everyone is laying off, it’s a tough market.” Vince Dunn Authentic Jersey
IOC, BPRL & OIL to pay $3.3 billion to Rosneft in September
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Oil India (OIL) and Bharat PetroResources (BPRL), among themselves, will pay Russia’s Rosneft $3.3 billion for buying equity stakes in the latter’s two oil and gas projects in September, two officials privy to the deals told Siddhartha P Saikia in New Delhi. In one of the deals, IOC, OIL and BPRL are picking up 29.9% in the Rosneft-operated Taas-Yuryakh oil and gas fields in East Siberia for $1.28 billion. Besides this, the consortium would fork out another $2.02 billion for 23.9% stake in Rosneft arm Vankorneft that runs the Vankor oil field in East Siberia, the sources added. “The deal size includes acquisition cost and share of 10-year capital expenditure programme. The Taas-Yuryakh fields are under development, while Vankor is a developed asset,” said the first official. Talking about risk in investing in oil and gas assets, the official said that due diligence for the “economic viability” of the projects have been carried out in different price scenarios in the range of $40 to $60/barrel. Of the total cost, IOC would shell out $1.2 billion; its board has given the go-ahead for the same. The oil refining and marketing company is likely to borrow funds to pay for the acquisition. On the other hand, OIL could out fork out from its cash reserves, which is in excess of Rs.100 billion as on March 30. Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, along with top executives of these firms, visited St Petersburg in early June to ink final agreements. New Delhi’s interest in increasing economic cooperation with the Kremlin was reflected in several rounds of talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The diplomatic relations with Russia has reached such heights that it will ensure India’s energy security for a long term,” Pradhan said. “Indian companies are investing in various oil projects in Russia and the investments are expected to reach $5 billion to $6 billion.” Rosneft’s chief executive Igor Sechin visited New Delhi in March to sign the preliminary heads of agreement for these acquisitions with Indian companies. Rosneft, impeded by US and European financing bans over the conflict in Ukraine, is eyeing investments from Asia to fund expansion. India, the third biggest oil importer, is seeking to enhance energy security amid low oil prices by tying up new sources of crude oil. State-controlled Rosneft is the world’s top listed oil producer by output. Currently, the Taas-Yuryakh asset is producing 20,000 barrels of oil per day with expected peak production of 100,000 bopd by 2021. The Vankor oil field in East Siberia produces more than 4,42,000 barrels of oil per day, double the output of Barmer, India’s largest onshore field, which is operated by Cairn India. Khris Davis Womens Jersey